SAVING THE DYING WARRIORS.(Review)

WHY WARRIORS LIE DOWN AND DIE explores how and why a proud and strong Aboriginal people, the Yolngu of eastern Arnhem Land, lost control of their lives and well-being. Their tragic loss occurred within the last century, and for the most part, since the Second World War. The genius of the book is that, although it tells of the Yolngu (pronounced, approximately, "yoln you") crisis of despair, it also) describes practicable ways to remedy its causes. By doing so, it gives hope for the return of the dignity of the Yolngu people and, by applying similar methods, of all Aboriginal people in depressed remote communities.

Evelyn Scott, Chairperson of the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation, caught the impact of the book, and its importance, when she launched it on 26th October 2000:

 
   It would be an understatement to say that reading the book left me with 
   mixed emotions. As you work your way through it, you find yourself swept 
   around in tides of feelings. They range from deep sorrow--even anger--to 
   hope and optimism that it's not too late, that the Warriors can rise and 
   stand tall as they have for many thousands of years. 
 
      For that to happen it will certainly help if as many non-Indigenous 
   Australians as possible read this book. And I am not just talking about the 
   doctors, the educators and other professionals who might go on to Yolngu 
   land to work with the people there. It's certainly "must read" material for 
   them, but I believe this book will help many other Australians to break 
   through some of the barriers that block our path to cross-cultural 
   understanding in a much broader sense. 

Scott makes a strong point. Much of the discussion of Aboriginal affairs is about matters of importance, for one reason or another, to urbanised Aborigines. Given the scale of the problems of Aborigines in depressed remote communities, relatively little discussion, or even attention, is directed to issues that are acute for them. Many Australians, wishing to make their call and contribution, have walked bridges and signed books. The issues raised so vividly in this book remain sadly untouched by those efforts. There is much more to do.

The author, Richard Trudgen, based this timely work on his experiences and education while working with Yolngu people in Arnhem Land. Much of the thrust of the book concerns the need for Yolngu education by communication methods having meaning for Yolngu people. Plainly, Trudgen is a naturally gifted educator. He was led to this vocation, however, by an unlikely training.

RICHARD TRUDGEN was born at Orange, New South Wales, in 1950. After he left school, he trained as a fitter and turner. In 1973, feeling uneasy about the relationships between the early settlers in his area and the local Aboriginal people, Trudgen volunteered to work for a year with the Yolngu people as a fitter/mechanic.

Trudgen spent the first three months at Milingimbi Mission off the north-central Arnhem Land coast. He then moved to help in the development of the new township of Ramingining in central Arnhem Land. He remained there for over a decade. In 1975, after two years with the Yolngu, Trudgen left his position as fitter/mechanic and became a community worker training in community development and education. Trudgen's work was ground-breaking but his health suffered. In 1983, sickness forced him to leave Arnhem Land and to return to New South Wales.